Hope it Gives You Hell
by Sambrero
Summary: Harmon has just joined the Castanet Academy, but instead of the happiness she expects to find there, she spirals into a whirlpool of depression, hate and angst. Can she face life after what happened? And, most of all, can she even face her fears?
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

She stared at her keyboard for a few minutes, trying to sort out the dusty memories.

Dad had told her to write a story, to let it all out. He didn't know all that happened. He only knew the tiniest, most necessary parts. No one would ever know...

The pen began to loop on the paper, forming letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, chapters...

And so Harmon told her story.

*******

**Chapter One**

Harmon gazed into the mirror, her caramel eyes returning her warm, excited stare. Dancing in the rays of sunshine that shone defiantly through her bedroom window were dust motes, disappearing as they left the bright warmth. She flicked her brown hair, and flashed a grin of white.

"I can't believe it," Harmon said, her voice gentle, although edged with a tone of anticipation.

She was just starting high school, and her father had decided to send her to her mums house. Of course, what complicated things was the fact that Harmon's mum- Lizzie- lived far away from her ex-husband. Plus (although Lizzie had made Harmon promise not to tell her dad) Lizzie was going to be away for much of Harmon's school year. Lizzie went on business trips a lot, and they were usually quite long, tending to keep on extending, even through holidays.

This, of course, meant that once Harmon moved to Lizzie's house... she would be free. She felt a buzz of adrenaline, and realized. She was sixteen, and soon free. Harmon could have parties, go out whenever she wanted... anything, as long as she didn't flunk anything.

"Harmon! It's time to go!"

Harmon smiled at the deep tones that came from downstairs; her father had been trying to hide his remorse all day. Of course, he was upset that she was leaving, but he knew it was for the better. In their current town, the high school was rather pathetic, and although Harmon would have to leave many friends, she could make new ones.

Hastily, she ran the brush through her silky chestnut hair a few more times, making sure her bangs were in place. She'd recently had her hair quite short, and it was now just below her chin. "Just coming, dad!" She called downstairs, and grabbed a last few things from her bed.

"Goodbye, old life," Harmon muttered, casting a glance around her bedroom.

The window looked out on a busy street, above which the sun smiled through white scarves. The sky was a clear azure, and the trees seemed to wave goodbye at her through the steady, warm breeze. Her bed was neatly made with violet covers, and her bedroom ceiling and walls were painted white. The carpet was burgundy and soft, Harmon would miss the comfy feeling of it squishing between her toes.

Her desk was empty of her computer, and her posters had been taken down not two days ago. The books were still there, reminders of her return. Harmon smiled and closed the door behind her as she exited her room.

"Truth be told, I'll miss you," Harmon whispered.

*******

"Oh my Godess... Mum!" Harmon yelled, and ran towards the raven haired woman standing awkwardly by her house.

The woman was wearing a smart, black suit; her hair neatly tied back in a plait. She beamed, traces of nervousness disappearing from her eager face. She had eyes exactly like Harmon's, but Lizzie had a more exotic look. Harmon knew that her mother was part Italian, part English, resulting in bronze skin and dark hair.

Harmon's dad, on the other hand, was mostly American, part English. Lizzie and Cameron (her father) had met in England during Glastonbury, and had since married, had Harmon and then divorced, each going to seperate ends of the country. Cameron cast a wary glance at Lizzie, and Harmon rolled her eyes. Apparantly, the other side of the country wasn't good enough.

"Hi, Harmon!" Exclaimed Lizzie. "How are you?"

Harmon grinned. "I'm good," she replied. "It's going to be so much fun going to school here in Harmonica Town! Are the kids here nice?"

"Of course!" Lizzie laughed. "You'll get along fine." Harmon was glad to hear that Lizzie steered clear of the topic of available, hot boys- Cameron got nervous and twitchy when the opposite gender was even mentioned. Reminded of her father, who was extracting several large suitcases from the taxis boot, she turned to him.

"Thank you dad," Harmon smiled. "I love you. I'll miss you!"

Cameron hugged her awkwardly. "Goodbye, darling," he said. "I love you too! Hopefully, I'll see you soon." He waved, setting the last suitcase on the doorstep of Lizzie's house, and got back into the taxi.

"Goodbye!" Lizzie and Harmon waved after the tazi as it pulled away into the distance. Lizzie turned to Harmon.

"Guess what," Harmon's mum said excitedly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Harmon picked up a couple of her suitcases, and dragged them into her mum's house. "What is it?" she asked.

""I've got you a job," Lizzie beamed. "Just a little one, if you don't like it you can give it up."

Harmon's eyes widened. A job? Awesome! "What am I doing?" She asked carefully.

"You'll be helping out in the Armonica Bar," Lizzie replied. "Unfortunately, it's evenings- four to one- but you'll be working Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays. You're off on festival days, but you'll work Monday to Saturday during holidays from school."

Harmon's eyes narrowed in suspicion. It sounded like some ploy her mother had created so that she wouldn't have time to party or hang out with friends. The only free weekend day she had was Sunday.

"Who else works at the bar?" Harmon couldn't asking.

"Uh... Harbor, his daughter Kathy run the bar, Chase works as a cook, and Selena is an entertainment dancer."

Harmon considered her choices. Harbor... too old. Kathy and Selena... Potential best friends, although Selena sounded a bit, ah... Anyways, Chase.

"Who's Chase?" She asked, trying not to sound interested.

"He'll be in your year at school," Lizzie said, smiling.

"Cool," was all Harmon said, and she began to pull her suitcases up to her room.

*******

Harmon let out a sigh of relief, and collapsed on her bed.

Lizzie had abandoned her at the first mention of unpacking, and Harmon had had to do it all by herself. The dark red walls of her bedroom were covered with familiar posters, and the wardrobe and drawers were filled with clothes. Her bedside table had a lamp sitting atop it, covered with a lampshade that matched the walls. The beds sheets and pillows were wrapped in black covers, but the quilt was covered with an extra blanket- Harmon assumed it was for decoration- that was dark red, and made out of some strange shiny material.

Quickly, Harmon decided to change, and pulled on a red and black striped shirt, with sleeves that reached her knuckles. Although the sleeves were baggy, the shirt hugged her torso tightly, and she decided to throw on a pair of black skinny jeans and hi-top Converse. The red of shirt seemed to give her hair a red tinge, and Harmon smiled. She looked quite pretty. Carefully, she applied black mascara and eyeliner, and smudged her eyelids with a dark red eyeshadow.

As she was screwing the cap back on her mascara, there was a knock on the front door downstairs. Eager to meet one of the villagers, she ran downstairs quietly and opened the front door.

In front of her stood a curvy woman, with blond hair and vivid green eyes. A bright red bandana was tied around the woman's neck, and she was wearing her hair tied back in a high ponytail.

"Hi," the girl greeted Harmon. "The name's Kathy. Welcome to Harmonica!"

* * *

**Amber-chan: Well, I hope this story is going well. I don't seem to have any readers yet, but hopefully I'll get some. If you do read this story, could I just ask you to please review? It really will encourage me to write. ^,^ Thank you for reading, it's hugely appreciated. Sorry if the chapters are too short, by the way. It's just how I write.**


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